For her ongoing capsule collaboration with Alcantara, the Italian equivalent of Ultrasuede, Rebecca Moses imagined style personalities based on a single item. “When you’re doing a capsule, you really have to stop and say, ‘What’s it about?’” said Moses, who came up with the style identity concept based on the fact that Alcantara produces fabric for automobiles, tech companies and interiors in addition to fashion.
The characters she created for the installation — including two ruffle-loving twins; a tomboy lawyer who can’t live without a “detective coat” and Penelope, who’s constantly on the quest to be unique and buys only one-of-a-kind pieces, such as Moses’ hand-painted dresses and skirts — were not one-dimensional. In addition to their signature item — a ruffled cape, a tiered slipdress, a trench, a turban — she illustrated and painted faces on mannequins representing each girl; gave her jewelry, handbags, stuffed octopuses and dogs for company — all done in Alcantara. Moses is a brilliant painter as well as a fashion designer and the theatrically charming faces she drew for each personality gave them, well, fabulous personality. With that, Moses did something that cannot be easy: She created a fully illustrated world out of a single fabric that’s most often found in car interiors. That’s pretty fabulous.